Sounding the 805

The Dungeon Awaits a metal burrito to the face, a definitive debut and Delaney Gibson gets into role-play

The Dungeon Awaits podcast — the live heavy metal Internet radio show broadcasting from Ventura each week to a devoted listenership of metal fans — celebrates three full years of “decimating the airwaves” this Monday. Host Daniel Dungeon recently announced the details of the three-year anniversary show, broadcasting live on Dec 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. from Ventura’s nerve center of heavy metal mayhem — that’s right, Fresh Burrito off Johnson Drive, near Toys “R” Us. “We’ll be set up across from the salsa bar,” growls Dungeon.

In its three years on the air, The Dungeon Awaits has risen to become the No. 1 metal radio show on Error FM and earned sponsorships by Terrorizer Magazine, Produkt Clothing and TheGauntlet.com. In addition to its usual on-air antics between blasts of deathmetal and blackmetal, the main event of the special Dungeon broadcast will be a roast of itself, opening Dungeon and his co-hosts to public humiliation at the hands of local comedian Roger Stroklund, Ken May of local metal band Crypt Infection, members of Burning at the Stake and myself. Join the masses at Fresh Burrito to witness the bloodshed, or tune in from 6 to 9 p.m. at www.thedungeonawaits.com.

Seasoned local band Le Meu Le Purr took a break from its near-complete recording sessions for its next album to epically rock an all-ages show at Camarillo’s Rock City Studios last Saturday. As expected, the guys killed it, and with the recent addition of a second guitar player and a more prominent keyboard, it’s a bigger and more arena-worthy sound than ever, with stage presence to match. But LMLP and the sound system weren’t the only things buzzing that night. Surprisingly, the biggest turnout showed up for a very young, basically unknown Camarillo rock band called The Definitives, which definitively busted the doors with its caravan of fans at its first ever live show. For the most part, the key to a successful show is, above all, enthusiastic fans in attendance — and this band is clearly keen to this.

While perhaps, at this early stage, lacking some of the creativity to match its technical skill, for a first show, sounding well-practiced, professionally equipped, and at least appearing popular is a good start. It was certainly not the disenchanting, empty, weeknight dive-bar performances with which most bands have to initiate themselves to the life of the working musician.

For those craving a touch of class, local singer-songwriter darling Delaney Gibson can be heard vocally embodying the character of a well-to-do San Diego housewife as one of seven vocalists on California composer Mark Abel’s experimental third album, The Dream Gallery: Seven California Portraits. Abel, once involved in New York’s rock scene in the’70s, as a musician and live sound engineer for Television and The Talking Heads, is now a neo-classical music composer living in Southern California, often enlisting the talents of top-notch concert vocalists. The concept album explores the complex psyches and social milieus of Californians, with each song highlighting a different personality and region. Gibson, with high-powered vocals cultivated from her musical theatre past, is a perfect fit to step into the skin of a character, in this case that of Carol, a San Diego soccer mom imprisoned in the myopic frivolity of her own lifestyle. Check www.markabelmusic.com for more info.

Sounding the 805 is Ventura County’s only biweekly local music column. If you have a tip, a suggestion, a complaint, some dish or just a kind word, shoot Chris Mastrovito an e-mail.